American Library Association announces winners of annual James Madison Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Library Association (ALA) today announced the joint winners of the 2010 James Madison Award. Sharing the honor this year are Meredith Fuchs, General Counsel to the National Security Archive, and the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

The James Madison Award, named in honor of President James Madison, was established by the ALA in 1986 to honor individuals or groups who have championed, protected and promoted public access to government information and the public’s “right to know” on the national level.

The honor is presented annually on the anniversary of Madison’s birth during Freedom of Information (FOI) Day. Fuchs and Anne L. Weismann, CREW’s chief counsel, will accept the award today during the 12th annual National Freedom of Information Day Conference to be held at the Knight Conference Center at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

In December of 2009, the National Security Archive, CREW, the White House and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) entered into an agreement setting forth general principles that resolved the missing White House e-mail lawsuit filed first by the Archive in September 2007. ALA President Camila Alire said this outcome has done much to ensure the transparency of the White House.

“Thanks to the steadfast commitment of these groups, we can say with confidence that today’s White House is more transparent than ever before and that Americans who ‘want to know’ can rest assured that the answers are there – complete and preserved,” Alire said.

More information on the ALA James Madison Award, including a list of previous winners, can be found
here.